INTERVIEW Decade of anti-corruption, anti-competition litigations prepare Song as compliance expert

Song Jin-wook gives a seminar at Bae, Kim & Lee law firm in Seoul, Nov. 27. Courtesy of American Chamber of Commerce in Korea

Song Jin-wook, partner at Bae, Kim & Lee law firm, said he came to understand what specific points companies should focus on in relation to serious disasters and compliance preparation over the course of his anti-corruption, anti-competition and corporate espionage caseslitigations. 

The expert in compliance and risk management gives seminars on the Serious Accidents Punishment Act (SAPA) to corporate clients, including precautionary measures to avoid arrest and harsh punishment.

Song Jin-wook gives a seminar at Bae, Kim & Lee in Seoul, Nov. 27. Courtesy of American Chamber of Commerce in Korea

"Based on my extensive experience defending cases involving violations of the Occupational Safety and Health Act in large-scale accidents resulting in casualties since 2015, I have successfully handled defense work in investigations related to serious accidents," he said in an interview with The Korea Times.

He gave a seminar to the members of the American Chamber of Commerce in Korea, the largest foreign chamber in Korea, Nov. 27. The entity aims to foster development of investment and trade between Korea and the United States.

Chief among the topics were ways to prevent violation of the act, as highlighted by prosecution arrests in previous cases.

CEOs of firms were arrested, he found, when they either failed to allocate sufficient budget and personnel for safety and health management or subcontracted high-risk tasks out to smaller ones that lacked safety management capabilities. They hired unskilled foreign workers for the job.

Also warranting arrest was when they failed to prevent the recurrence of similar accidents, almost all of which were related to an overall lack of appropriate follow-up actions despite multiple warnings from external agencies.

Attempted or succeeded destruction of evidence was also grounds for arrest.

“The CEOs should conduct thorough inspections to ensure compliance. They need to monitor and evaluate workplaces, with a focus on preventing further incidents,” he said. "Also important is keeping accident sites preserved and retaining original documents to avoid evidence tampering."

Just as critical was the analysis of cases that led to prison terms of CEOs.

Among the 27 cases of first-time SAPA violations, four resulted in prison sentences.

The court convicted the CEOs when it determined they were aware of the potential for serious accidents but remained careless.

Those cases were aggravated when they had multiple prior criminal violations of a separate law governing the mandatory implementation of accident prevention measures.

“The CEOs should conduct thorough inspections to ensure compliance. They need to monitor and evaluate workplaces, with a focus on preventing further incidents.”

Since the SAPA came into effect in January 2022, the total number of cases came to 609 as of March 31. Most of them are still under investigation.

Among them, 187 were either closed during an internal labor office investigation or referred for prosecution.

A total of 53 cases resulted in the indictment of figures involved as of July 1, whereas indictment was avoided in 13 cases as of April.

Indictments commonly involved falls, jamming, explosions, falling objects, burying, cutting or acute intoxication.

Sentences were typically suspended for first-time offenders as of September. Twenty-three avoided prison terms, but four were put behind bars.